The Spark

The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has shown up in Pennsylvania. The state Department of Agriculture confirmed a case at an East Donegal Township, Lancaster County chicken flock late last week.

The disease is highly infectious and can be fatal to...

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April's Franklin and Marshall College Poll tallied the opinions of Pennsylvanians on several social or culture war issues along with questions about how voters feel about their finances, the economy and political candidates.

Seventy-percent of regis...

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Up until last year, April was designated as Autism Awareness Month. Often one would see the logo or symbol of puzzle pieces and blue ribbon to signify autism awareness.

In 2021, a big change took place -- April is now known as Autism Acceptance Mont...

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One of the bright spots of the COVID-19 pandemic is that more Pennsylvanians went outdoors for recreation. There's no reason to believe they'll stop either. At a time when many were home from work and didn't want to be stuck indoors, adults and childre...

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The good government group Committee of Seventy is among the election reform minded who want to open Pennsylvania's primary to all registered voters, saying primaries would be more competitive and wouldn't cater to the most extreme elements in the parti...

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A new film -- The Monster Inside Me chronicles one couple's experiences with Lyme Disease that they describe as "the cruelty of day-to-day life with this overlooked disease."

One of them film director Tony Silva appears on Wednesday's Smart Talk to ...

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As the weather warms, more people will be going outdoors and that means they are more likely to come into contact with ticks. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection tick specialist Christian Boyer is on Wednesday's Smart Talk with more inf...

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Seven different good government non-profit organizations, led by Fair Districts PA and the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters kicked off the campaign last week with an eye on changing rules and the procedures in the legislature that they say will resu...

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There are more than 2,500 historical markers located throughout Pennsylvania. The bright blue and yellow markers tell the story of Pennsylvania’s past from the well known to the not-quite-as-familiar and include subjects such as Native Americans and settlers, government and politics, athletes, entertainers, struggles for freedom and equality and factories and businesses.

The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission is taking nominations until June 1 for new markers to commemorate historic properties, persons and events of state or national significance.

Nominations must be submitted electronically by June 1 through PA-SHARE, PHMC’s web-based application that replaces the existing paper-based system.

Nominations are reviewed by a panel of independent historical experts from across the state. The panel recommendations are then presented to PHMC’s commissioners for review and a formal vote to approve, reject or modify the panel recommendations at their September 7 meeting.

Howard Pollman, Director of External Affairs at the PHMC is on Monday’s Smart Talk discuss what’s considered historic and the process for nominating something for a marker.

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Beekeepers in the U.S. lost more than 45% of their honeybee colonies in the one-year period starting in April 2020. The loss of bees from colony collapse disorder and other causes over the past decade is critical to food supply since bees pollinate native plants and tree fruit crops.

Researchers at Bucknell University in Lewisburg have taken a novel approach — they are studying the brains of bees for stress, which has been identified as a factor in colony collapse disorder.

Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy, the researchers are comparing the brains of healthy bees to those that are diseased.

Monday’s Smart Talk focuses on the research with Jayne McDevitt, cell biology/biochemistry major and lead author of their latest study, chemistry professor David Rovnyak and biology professor and bee researcher Beth Capaldi.

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